James Meek‘s third novel, The People’s Act of Love is set in a small town in Siberia in 1919, during the Russian civil war. The characters and drama, though, are far removed from the stock literary gallery of reds and whites. Amongst his drammatis personae are Christian castrates, cannibals and a division of the Czech […]
On the 2nd of August this year (2005), football fans from the Sicilian city of Messina blockaded the strategic ferry route between the city and the Italian peninsula, protesting against their club’s relegation to Serie B. Another small episode in a long history of impassioned football support, and political intrigue (the Sicilian club were re-admitted […]
Is the Novel dead? Can it survive in an age where other forms of entertainment and information readily seem to fill its shoes? When DVD players are small and portable enough to challenge the convenience of a paperback, is the novel doomed? “I’ve never been very good at either privileging art forms or declaring any […]
“The real issue is not whether the Lancet figures were right, or whether we were right. The real issue is why are the British and American governments not doing this themselves?”, questions John Sloboda, one of the founders of the Iraq Body Count (IBC). “Why are they leaving it to small underfunded studies, volunteers and […]
Liz Jensen’s latest book, The Ninth Life of Louis Drax, finally seems to be getting the English author some of the credit and profile she deserves. The cynics may suggest that the book’s prominent placing in bookshops has as much to do with the fact that it has been snapped up, cinematically, by Anthony Minghella, […]
Irish film maker Robert Quinn grew up in the Cinema. That's not a clichéd way of saying that he liked movies, and spent all his pocket money going to the local cinema. No, Robert Quinn actually did grow up in the Cinema. His father, film maker Bob Quinn, in the 1970s set up the independent […]
The horror, the horror. We fall out into Arezzo’s football stadium, yet to cool from the day’s intense heat. Shell-shocked and lost for words. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the British Sea Power interview experience. It starts with the introductions, which are perhaps the most comprehensible element of the encounter. Yan, the singer, dressed with […]
Trevor Manuel, the South African Minister for finance, famously commented on the rise of global protest movements, &ldquoI know what they're against but I have no sense of what they're for”. It's an accusation levelled frequently, primarily by representatives of the established order, ranging from members of the IMF, WTO and World Bank, through to […]
Italy on Sunday 12th and Monday 13th of June will go to the polls in a referendum to vote on four motions modifying last year’s law 40/2004 on medically assisted procreation. Or rather, some Italians will go to vote, while others will heed the advice offered by many of their elected representatives – to abstain […]
In the days between the death of Pope John Paul II and the start of the conclave to elect the new Pope, the world's media (and bookmakers) speculated intensely on the papabile. Cardinals from Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria and Italy were all listed as credible candidates. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was neither completely discounted, nor rated highly […]
Re-approaching Rupert Thomson’s The Book of Revelations makes for an even more disturbing read now, than in 2000 when it was released. The story of a male dancer who is kidnapped by three women, who use and abuse him sexually, was brilliant and uncomfortable back then, but with the iconography of Abu Ghraib in mind […]
Firing questions at anyone for a half an hour about their motivations and identity is bound to produce contradictions, but an interview with Glen Hansard, chief songwriter from Irish band the Frames, throws up more than its fair share. It’s not that he’s confused, or indeed confusing. Rather, the context that he and The Frames […]
“The mafia, in the strict sense of Cosa Nostra, the hierarchical criminal organization based in Sicily, does not ‘run Italy’ as you sometimes hear people rather glibly say,” explains John Dickie, senior lecturer in Italian at the University of London, and author of Cosa Nostra – a history of the Sicilian Mafia. It’s in response […]
Why should one be interested in the conditions at Camp X-Ray, Guantánamo Bay? Why should one care about the legal position of detainees in Guantánamo? After all, this camp was set up by the American Government to hold Al-Qaeda prisoners, members of an organisation that had precious little respect for the rules of war or […]
“Words are the first step we take to turn intentions into reality”, declares American author Chuck Palahniuk. “All our vows, – he explains, – and declarations and signatures: Words. And ceremonies where we speak words (pledges and promises) in front of our peers. Again, that’s how human beings develop their dreams into a physical reality”. […]
